"Xiao Mo, what do these two characters mean?"
"'Fair and graceful.'"
"And this character?"
"'To seek,' or 'a mate.'"
"'A fair and graceful lady is a good mate for a Gentleman.' Xiao Mo, what does that whole sentence mean?"
"It means that a beautiful and virtuous lady is a good partner for a Gentleman."
"Then how do I become a virtuous lady?"
"By reading."
"But I am reading."
"It's not enough. You have to read more."
"Then how many books do I have to read?"
"When you've read enough, you'll know."
"Oh..."
Bai Ruxue murmured in acknowledgment, then lifted her head to look at the top of Xiao Mo's.
"Huh? Xiao Mo, you seem to have gotten taller."
"Have I?"
"You have." Bai Ruxue stood on her tiptoes, gesturing. "You used to be the same height as me, but now you're a whole head taller."
"I guess you're right." Xiao Mo looked at the girl before him. "But how come you aren't growing?"
"That's true..." Bai Ruxue blinked. "Why aren't I growing?"
"Maybe this is as tall as you'll get." Xiao Mo patted her head and continued on his way, leading the ox while reading his book.
"No way!" Bai Ruxue caught up to him. "Xiao Mo, I'll keep growing! I'm going to get super tall, with super long legs!"
Xiao Mo smiled. "Alright, I'll be waiting then."
Every time Xiao Mo went up the mountain, he would encounter the girl.
The girl never said where she came from, and Xiao Mo never asked where she lived.
Whenever Xiao Mo read while riding his ox, the girl would sit sideways behind him, her small feet dangling and swinging beneath her hem as she gazed at the white clouds, the green grass, and the boy in front of her.
Ever since the girl appeared, Xiao Mo spent much less time gathering medicinal herbs.
This was mainly because Bai Ruxue would gather the herbs for him and bury them in the ground.
Whenever Xiao Mo arrived, she would excitedly pull him deeper into the mountains, saying, "I found lots of Purple Sun Grass and Cyan Dragon Flowers again!"
Xiao Mo taught her to read, and Bai Ruxue would pay for her lessons with stray pieces of silver she found.
But no matter how lucky Bai Ruxue was, she couldn't possibly find money every day.
Whenever Bai Ruxue couldn't find any money, Xiao Mo would have to console her. "It's alright. You can just pay me with a rabbit or a pheasant for your tuition sometime."
After that, whenever the girl came to see Xiao Mo, she would be carrying a rabbit or a pheasant in her small, fair hands.
"You should've said so sooner! Rabbits and pheasants are much easier to find than silver," the girl remarked.
Still, Bai Ruxue continued to look for silver every day.
The reason was simple.
Bai Ruxue had heard Xiao Mo say that studying was expensive, and she wanted to find money for him to continue his studies.
Summer came, and the weather grew increasingly hot.
Snakes prefer cool, shady places.
Bai Ruxue stood at the mouth of the cave, losing all desire to go out the moment she saw the blazing sun.
'If I slither out there,' Bai Ruxue thought, 'my belly will get scalded. I'll turn into a roasted snake...'
'But Xiao Mo said he was coming up the mountain to graze his ox today...'
'Judging by the time, he should have finished lunch and started up the mountain on his ox by now.'
"Xiao Qing, I'm going out..." Bai Ruxue said, mustering her courage.
Lying on a cool stone, Xiao Qing lazily lifted her head. "Come back soon, Sister."
By now, Xiao Qing didn't have much to say about her sister going to see that human anymore.
'Her sister wouldn't listen anyway.'
'Besides, the human seemed pretty dense; he still hadn't realized her sister was a Demon.'
"Okay, I'm off."
Bai Ruxue transformed into her human form and made a point to check her little feet.
'Definitely not a tail.' Satisfied, Bai Ruxue hopped cheerfully out of the cave.
Sure enough, on the path he always took up the mountain, Bai Ruxue saw a boy and an ox.
"Xiao Mo!" The girl waved happily.
Just like always, the two of them rode the big black ox, swaying along the mountain path.
'But this sun is absolutely brutal...'
Bai Ruxue felt her vision blurring, and her head was getting dizzy.
Just then, a shadow fell over the girl's face.
Bai Ruxue looked up to see an oil-paper umbrella.
"Here, take this. It's hot out. You don't want to get heatstroke," Xiao Mo said, handing her the umbrella.
"Well, aren't you thoughtful."
Bai Ruxue happily took the umbrella, resting it on her shoulder and gently twirling the handle like a little kid.
On the ox's back, the girl sat sideways under the umbrella, while the boy sat astride, reading his book.
The songs of birds and the chirping of insects mingled in the mountain air.
A cool breeze swept by, ruffling the strands of Xiao Mo's hair.
The girl took a deep breath, her eyes closing in comfort. The wind carried the scent of the earth and of him.
'Maybe summer isn't so bad after all,' she thought.
「Late Autumn.」
The weather grew cooler, and the leaves turned a withered yellow.
Many of the medicinal herbs in the mountains had withered and died.
Sitting on a rock along the path he always took up the mountain, the girl rested her chin in her small, fair palm, looking a bit wistful.
'Compared to summer, I hate autumn even more,' Bai Ruxue realized.
'Because once autumn arrived, he barely came up the mountain to graze his ox or gather herbs.'
'He still came to see me every few days, but it wasn't as often as before.'
She watched and waited, and waited and watched.
Every day, the girl would sit on that rock and gaze out, from sunrise to sunset.
Before she knew it, evening had arrived.
In another hour, the sun would set.
Just as the girl was thinking he wouldn't come today, a familiar figure appeared on the small path.
The girl's eyes instantly lit up.
"Xiao Mo!" The girl ran over happily. "Why are you coming up the mountain so late today?"
"I happened to have some free time today, so I came up to see if you were around. I have something to tell you. I didn't expect you to still be up here," Xiao Mo said with a smile.
"I... I was about to head down, too..." The girl's eyes shifted. "What did you want to tell me?"
"The village chief says I've been studying well enough these past few years to pass the county examination. I've already registered, so I'll be going to take the test next spring. He told me to prepare diligently and aim for a good ranking. Since winter is coming, I probably won't be able to come up here anymore."
"Oh..." Bai Ruxue lowered her head, a flash of disappointment in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I won't be able to teach you how to read for a while."
"It's okay, it's okay!" The girl quickly waved her hands. "But you'll definitely be back next spring, right?"
"Yes," Xiao Mo nodded.
"Then let's make a pinky promise." The girl held out her slender pinky finger.
Xiao Mo extended his finger as well.
"Pinky promise. A hundred years, no take-backs."
Their two fingers hooked together. The girl swayed their joined hands as her light, cheerful voice echoed through the forest.
"Xiao Mo, next spring, I'll be waiting for you right here. You can't lie to me, okay?"
The girl lifted her beautiful eyes, looking at Xiao Mo, unable to bear the thought of parting.
"And what if I do lie to you?" Xiao Mo teased.
"Don't you dare lie to me."
The girl pouted.
"Because... I really will wait for you forever..."